Back in the UK for ahem American Independence Day oops

I arrived back “home” in England today, late but in one piece. And yes, I am well aware of how ridiculously silly it was for me to fly from the US to the UK on the overnight flight July 3rd, to arrive in the UK in time to celebrate my country’s independence from the country in which I choose to live. Complicated, these allegiances. I love both my countries. Neither is perfect. Let’s move on.

The big news, especially for long-time readers of this blog (read: those who have been around long enough to have tired of me complaining about the same old things ad nauseum) is that on Wednesday I will be picking up the keys to my new flat.

!!!!!!!!!!

And get this: it has a freezer, a dishwasher, closets, a shower, a washing machine that is NOT in the kitchen, and is about twice the size of my current, very over-crowded one bedroom flat.

Now this will have consequences. Anyone who has been paying close attention will have noticed that I’ve been living the life of a vagabond. In the first half of 2010, I have been in Texas, France, Germany, Virginia, Michigan, Maryland, China, Switzerland, and Pennsylvania. For many reasons this has GOT to stop. First of all, I’m exhausted from all this travelling. But more importantly, my comfort in my new flat will come in exchange for a significant change in life-style, since my current living conditions are work-related and thus heavily subsidized, and I will be going at it solo on the private market in the new digs. So my free funds for fun travel (admittedly of which only France and China qualified from that list) will diminish, as will my funds for work travel that is not perfectly or fully subsidized (including the things that I forgot to turn in the reimbursement forms for because I was too tired from all the travelling….) I suspect this is a good thing. Because I suspect that deep down I was accepting all the speaking engagements that I was being offered on the grounds that I would be able to stay in a hotel and take showers.

So there we have it. This week I celebrate *my* independence by getting myself into some more comfortable, grown-up living conditions. It may also mark my officially putting my feet down a bit, and stopping waffling for a while about where to make my permanent home: for now, this is it.

5 responses to “Back in the UK for ahem American Independence Day oops”

Woo hoo! You even have a dishwasher?!!
I suspect having a place that feels more like a ‘real’ place to live will make a big difference in your life! I was in my mid 30’s when I finally moved into a place that wasn’t a student rental or owned by my employer. Yes, it’s more expensive, but I’d never go back!